A history of defacing Hermes bags

Some call it sacrilege, others call it customisation - but as Kim Kardshian showcases yet another 'personalised' Hermès bag, we take a look at the history of defacing the storied fashion house's famous sacs

Forget private jets and magnums of Cristal, the Hermès Birkin is the international symbol of wealth. Victoria Beckham apparently has a collection worth in the region of £1.5 million. Tamara Ecclestone has 30, each housed in custom-made glass cases in her wardobe. Why, then, does this hand-held status symbol so oft find itself the target of questionable 'customisation'?

First, it's time for a little bit of history. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

The bag was conceived in 1981. "I remember it well. I'd been upgraded by Air France on a flight to London, and was sitting next to a man,"
Jane Birkin told The Telegraph in March 2012.
"I'm not quite sure what type of bag I had with me - my husband, Jacques Doillon, had reversed his car over my basket, crushed it on purpose not two days before. Little did he know that on this airplane journey, when everything fell out of whatever bag I had, the man next to me said: 'You should have one with pockets'. I said: 'The day Hermès make one with pockets I will have that', and he said: 'But I am Hermès and I will put pockets in for you'."

The 'man' was none other than Jean-Louis Dumas, the then-chief executive of Hermès. Birkin then drew a design on a sick bag, giving the specifications: "Why don't you make a handbag that is bigger than the Kelly [the Hermès style named after Grace Kelly] but smaller than Serge [Gainsbourg]'s suitcase?"

The bag finally came to fruition in 1984, with Dumas creating a version in black leather for Birkin, based on another Hermès design from 1982. It has since become one of, if not the most, iconic designer handbag, a fact helped by its continued exclusivity and huge price tag. Want one? It'll cost you upwards of £5,600 - but unlike that pristine Ferrari, it will hold, and possibly even increase, its value with age.

Kim Kardashian
The reality TV star is a repeat offender in the Hermès 'customisation' stakes - and she doesn't just stick to the Birkin, the Kelly (named after Grace Kelly) gets it too. For her 34th birthday in October 2014 she received a canvas and leather Kelly tote that had been painted on by one-year-old daughter North West (see below).

Kardashian's North West-painted Kelly bag. Photo: Rex

"Kanye had a box [with an Hermès purse in it] and I opened it up and it was all painted really cool," she told US weekly of the gift. "And on my computer was this message that said 'Play,' and it was a video of my daughter sitting outside painting the purse."

Strike one was this horror below; is it a bag or a nightmare? This terrifying piece of 'art' was gifted to Kim Kardashian by husband Kanye West for Christmas 2013. The jumbo Birkin was daubed by contemporary artist George Condo, who spent a whole 15 minutes creating the masterpiece. Can you tell?

The jumbo Birkin painted on by George Condo. Photo: Kim Kardashian/Instagram

"The whole point was to take an icon of consumerism and change it, which is like blasphemy. 'You can't do this!' It short circuits people's concept of what's untouchable, which is why it was fun to do," the artist later told W Magazine. "If I had just done it and put it in my closet, it wouldn't mean a thing," he said, laughing. "But when you stick that bag in the hands of Kim Kardashian, well, then you create a whole different atmosphere. It's about context."

Oddly enough, Kim has only been spotted using the bag once, preferring to use her extensive array of (less disturbing) Birkins instead.

Photos: Kim Kardashian/Instagram/Rex

Jane Birkin
It's somewhat ironic that the first person to deface the Hermès Birkin bag was the very woman that it was created in honour of. Birkin has carried the bag since its creation, but has almost always 'customised' it with protest stickers, beads and other trinkets so that it "doesn't look like a bloody Birkin bag!", sheepish about the fact that she has a "snobbish bag" named after her.

She's currently on her fifth; the first four were auctioned off for charity. On a Japanese TV programme in 2008, Birkin stamped repeatedly on a tan-coloured Birkin, saying it made it look 'unique' instead of boring and clean.

Jane Birkin with one of her Birkin bags in 1996. Photo: Rex

"There's no fun in a bag if it's not kicked around, so that it looks as if the cat's been sitting on it - and it usually has. The cat may even be in it!" she said in 2011.

Birkin standing on a Birkin on Japanese TV. Photos: Rex/eBay

Lady Gaga
Remember when you used to write on your school bag with Tipp-Ex? Well this is like that, but for rich people. The queen of courting controversy, Lady Gaga isn't one to miss a very expensive trick. In 2010, the singer scrawled in Japanese 'I Love Little Monsters, Tokyo Love' (a reference to her devoted fans) in black marker pen onto a pristine white Birkin. She then asked Japanese fans to write on the back of the bag. A few months later she debuted a black Birkin that looked as if it had been the victim of a 13-year-old's slap-dash DIY session, covered in poorly-placed studs. What's that saying? Ah yes, more money than sense...

Lady Gaga with her two 'customised' Birkins. Photos: Rex

Tyler Shields & Francesca Eastwood
Clint Eastwood's daughter, Francesca, came under fire in 2012 when she gave her $100,000 crocodile skin Birkin to her boyfriend, Tyler Shields, so he could destroy it in the name of art.

He set the bag alight, then demolished it with a chainsaw. Eastwood received death threats following the stunt, with many saying she was spoilt and the huge sum of money could have been used to help people in need.

Photos: Tyler Shields

Rita Ora
Wherever there's a trend, there's an Ora. The singer got graffiti artist Al-baseer Holly to doodle all over her black Birkin, and going by that blank stare, we don't think even she knows why.

Photo: Rita Ora/Instagram

Nene Leakes
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Nene Leakes (nope, we don't know who she is either) has also had a go at defacing her Birkin. But instead of turning to an artist, she relied on her own 'creativity'. "#personalized #birkin #neneisms #hermès custom by me & my husband had a fit," she captioned the below.

Photo: NeNe Leakes/Instagram

Leakes (Wikipedia says she was stripper, then an actress, and now a reality TV star. Of course) scribbled a number of her own 'catchphrases' from RHOA with what looks like nail varnish. Classy. Who doesn't want a Birkin that says "Close your legs to married men!"? £5,600: the price of stupidity.

Nene with two of her other, not defaced, Birkin bags. Photos: Nene Leakes/Instagram/Rex